One Correctional Officer Held Hostage And Three Assaulted Following Disturbance In A Tennessee Prison

According to authorities, on Sunday, a group of Tennessee prison inmates assaulted three correctional officers and held one of them hostage.

Disturbance in the prison:

The incident occurred at the Turney Center Industrial Complex in Only, Tennessee, located about 60 miles west of Nashville. Authorities have said that the incident took place after 16 inmates caused a disturbance at the prison.

In a statement issued by the Tennessee Department of Correction, officials said that two of the officers were removed from the unit immediately, while a third was held hostage “for a period of time.” The statement added that the officers were lifted afterwards to a local hospital.

However, the prison declined to provide further information regarding the condition of the three officers.

Tony Parker, the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction, issued a statement regarding the matter on Sunday where he said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with these officers. Any threat to the security of our institution or threat to our staff will be investigated and charged appropriately.”

Officials said that the disturbance began at around 4 p.m. local time and that it had lasted for around three hours. Following the incident, the prison was promptly placed on lockdown, the inmates involved were transferred afterwards to a maximum security facility.

Live updates:

As the incident unfolded, a Turney Center inmate called ABC affiliate WKRN. The inmate, who wasn’t identified by name, said: “Everybody’s on edge in here, everybody’s on edge, and they know if they give the officer up, more than likely people are going to die. There’s already been some officers in here, they are ready to kill. These officers are ready to kill.”

The prison, which is categorized as a medium security facility, houses approximately 1,500 inmates.